German authorities announce that 8-year-old girl who was imprisoned for almost life has been released

An 8-year-old German girl is said to have been trapped by her mother and grandparents for most of her life.

When the girl, who was identified only as Maria by the German media, was finally released, she was so physically underdeveloped that, according to senior prosecutor Patrick Baron von Grotfuss, she was “I could hardly climb stairs or navigate uneven ground on my own.”

The local public prosecutor’s office believes that the girl was held in a locked room in her grandparents’ house in the small town of Attendorn, east of Cologne, from the age of about 18 months.

“She wouldn’t have had a glimpse of the outside world,” added Grotthuss.

When doctors from the Siegen Children’s Hospital examined Maria, she said she had never seen a forest, been to a meadow or driven a car. District officials said there were no signs the child was physically abused or malnourished, but he continues to receive treatment “particularly for the psychological effects.”

Maria has been placed in foster care and the City of Siegen is investigating further her mother and grandparents for deprivation of liberty and child abuse. Her mother, who is 47 years old, could face up to her ten years in prison.

Prosecutors have so far given no answer as to why the mother and grandparents imprisoned the girl.

But how could a child have been imprisoned for seven years without anyone noticing and not being found?

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A statement from the Olpe district said the relationship between the child’s mother and father had broken down before Maria was born. registered with the municipality.

The district reports receiving anonymous hints that the girl is indeed living with her mother and grandparents in Attendorn, but says it has found no hard evidence to support these claims.

“The claim that the child’s welfare could be endangered could not be substantiated,” the school district wrote. “There was no concrete evidence that the child did not live in Italy.”

According to SauerlandKurier, the child’s father reported to youth welfare authorities that he had seen the mother and child in Attendorn in September 2015.

No concrete steps were taken until July of this year, when an anonymous couple reported to police rumors and stories from friends that their child was being held captive at their grandparents’ house. On 14 July, the district youth welfare office contacted the Italian authorities and found the mother and child in Calabria.

On September 12, the Italian Ministry of Justice confirmed to German authorities that “the child’s mother has never settled at the address indicated in your request.”

About a week and a half later, German authorities obtained a warrant revoking custody from the mother, and police and the Youth Welfare Office were sent to search the grandparents’ home.

Theo Melcher, the district administrator of Olpe, said the police investigation into the girl’s imprisonment had more to do with “why the girl was hidden for years and why she was denied a ‘normal’ childhood.” He said he hopes to get many answers.

“I am happy that the girl has been released from this situation,” he added.

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